Morecambe 2020–21 football season
Morecambe 2020–21 seasonCo-chairmen Graham Howse & Rod Taylor Manager Derek Adams Stadium Mazuma Stadium League Two 4th Play-offs Winners FA Cup Third Round EFL Cup Third Round EFL Trophy Group Stage (4th) Top goalscorer League: Carlos Mendes Gomes (15) All: Carlos Mendes Gomes (16) Average home league attendance 0[n 1] Biggest win Morecambe 4–0 Manchester United U23 18 November 2020 Biggest defeat Morecambe 0–7 Newcastle United 23 September 2020
All statistics correct as of match played 31 May 2021.
The 2020–21 season was Morecambe's 97th season since formation and their 14th consecutive season in League Two , the fourth tier of English football . It ended with the club being promoted to League One for the first time in their history, following playoff wins against Tranmere Rovers and, in the final, Newport County. They also competed in the FA Cup , EFL Cup and EFL Trophy .
The season was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic , with all matches except the play-offs taking place behind closed doors .
Pre-season [ ]
Due to the late start to the season, and lack of preparation time, Morecambe's pre-season was limited to just three matches against Manchester United U23s , Workington and Everton U23s .
Manchester United U23 v Morecambe
22 August 2020 (2020-08-22 ) Friendly Manchester United U23 1–1 Morecambe show Carrington
Galbraith
Mendes Gomes
Stadium: Aon Training Complex Attendance: 0
Morecambe v Workington
25 August 2020 (2020-08-25 ) Friendly Morecambe 1–0 Workington show Morecambe 19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Darren Handley
Everton U23 v Morecambe
29 August 2020 (2020-08-29 ) Friendly Everton U23 0–1 Morecambe show Halewood 15:00 BST
Stadium: USM Finch Farm Attendance: 0
Competitions [ ]
EFL League Two [ ]
League table [ ]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Promotion, qualification or relegation
1
Cheltenham Town (C, P)
46
24
10
12
61
39
+22
82
Promotion to the EFL League One
2
Cambridge United (P)
46
24
8
14
73
49
+24
80
3
Bolton Wanderers (P)
46
23
10
13
59
50
+9
79
4
Morecambe (O, P)
46
23
9
14
69
58
+11
78
Qualification for League Two play-offs
5
Newport County
46
20
13
13
57
42
+15
73
6
Forest Green Rovers
46
20
13
13
59
51
+8
73
7
Tranmere Rovers
46
20
13
13
55
50
+5
73
8
Salford City
46
19
14
13
54
34
+20
71
Updated to match(es) played on 31 May 2021. Source:
EFL Official Website Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences
[2] (C) Champion;
(O) Play-off winner;
(P) Promoted
Results summary [ ]
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
46
23
9
14
69
58
+11
78
13
5
5
38
27
+11
10
4
9
31
31
0
Last updated: 8 May 2021.
Source: BBC
Results by matchday [ ]
Matchday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Ground A H A H A A H H A A H H A A H A H H A H A H H A H A A A A H A H H A H A H A H A H H A H A H Result W L W W W L D L L W D D D L W L W W W W L D W W L D D L W W L W W D L W W L D L W W W L W W Position 4 14 5 2 1 6 6 11 12 10 9 10 10 14 11 12 10 8 5 5 9 8 6 3 6 7 6 8 4 4 5 5 4 5 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
Matches [ ]
The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.[3]
Cheltenham Town v Morecambe
Morecambe v Cambridge United
19 September 2020 2 Morecambe 0–5 Cambridge United show Morecambe15:00 BST
Diagouraga 58' Mendes Gomes 60'
Report
Hoolahan 29' Turner 34' (o.g. ) May 37' Mullin 54' , 64'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ben Speedie
Southend United v Morecambe
26 September 2020 3 Southend United 1–2 Morecambe show Southend-on-Sea 15:00 BST
Gibson 5' (o.g. ) Taylor 15' Demetriou 37'
Report
Phillips 33' 73' Kenyon 37' Wildig 55'
Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 0 Referee: Charles Breakspear
Morecambe v Port Vale
3 October 2020 4 Morecambe 1–0 Port Vale show Morecambe15:00 BST
Phillips 76' (pen. ) Gibson 85' O'Sullivan 90+5'
Report
Legge 77'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madley
Oldham Athletic v Morecambe
10 October 2020 5 Oldham Athletic 2–3 Morecambe show Oldham 15:00 BST
McAleny 52' , 90'
Report
Wildig 42' Gibson 57' Kenyon 59' Stockton 66'
Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Josh Smith
Crawley Town v Morecambe
17 October 2020 6 Crawley Town 4–0 Morecambe show Crawley 15:00 BST
Francomb 52' 54' Watters 67' , 71' Frost 77'
Report
Stadium: The People's Pension Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: John Busby
Morecambe v Mansfield Town
20 October 2020 7 Morecambe 1–1 Mansfield Town show Morecambe18:30 BST
Phillips 3' 35' Lavelle 50' Cooney 82'
Report
Charsley 26' McLaughlin 29'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Marc Edwards
Morecambe v Forest Green Rovers
Carlisle United v Morecambe
Tranmere Rovers v Morecambe
31 October 2020 10 Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Morecambe show Birkenhead 15:00 GMT
Khan 50'
Report
Phillips 57' (pen. )
Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Hicks
Morecambe v Exeter City
3 November 2020 11 Morecambe 2–2 Exeter City show Morecambe18:30 GMT
Mendes Gomes 41' Hendrie 45+1'
Report
Randall 33' 65' Taylor 72'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ollie Yates
Scunthorpe United v Morecambe
Morecambe v Barrow
1 December 2020 15 Morecambe 1–0 Barrow show Morecambe18:30 GMT
Mendes Gomes 12' Davis 25' Songo'o 70'
Report
Hird 15'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Thomas Bramall
Morecambe v Harrogate Town
12 December 2020 17 Morecambe 1–0 Harrogate Town show Morecambe15:00 GMT
Wildig 56' 84' Halstead 89'
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ollie Yates
Morecambe v Leyton Orient
Morecambe v Grimsby Town
26 December 2020 20 Morecambe 3–1 Grimsby Town show Morecambe15:00 GMT
Stockton 45' Songo'o 56' Mendes Gomes 58' , 71' Phillips 90+3'
Report
Pollock 21'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Declan Bourne
Leyton Orient v Morecambe
Morecambe v Tranmere Rovers
Bolton Wanderers v Morecambe
Bradford City v Morecambe
Barrow v Morecambe
20 February 2021 (2021-02-20 ) 29 Barrow 1–2 Morecambe show Barrow-in-Furness 15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Progression Solicitors Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Thomas Bramall
Morecambe v Salford City
23 February 2021 (2021-02-23 ) 30 Morecambe 2–1 Salford City show Morecambe18:30 GMT
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Mansfield Town v Morecambe
27 February 2021 (2021-02-27 ) 31 Mansfield Town 1–0 Morecambe show Mansfield 15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: One Call Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse
Morecambe v Crawley Town
2 March 2021 (2021-03-02 ) 32 Morecambe 3–1 Crawley Town show Morecambe18:30 GMT
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Oliver Langford
Morecambe v Carlisle United
6 March 2021 (2021-03-06 ) 33 Morecambe 3–1 Carlisle United show Morecambe15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Sam Allison
Forest Green Rovers v Morecambe
9 March 2021 (2021-03-09 ) 34 Forest Green Rovers 2–2 Morecambe show Nailsworth 19:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: The innocent New Lawn Attendance: 0 Referee: Trevor Kettle
Harrogate Town v Morecambe
20 March 2021 (2021-03-20 ) 36 Harrogate Town 0–1 Morecambe show Harrogate 15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: EnviroVent Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Josh Smith
Morecambe v Cheltenham Town
27 March 2021 (2021-03-27 ) 37 Morecambe 1–0 Cheltenham Town show Morecambe15:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Marc Edwards
Cambridge United v Morecambe
2 April 2021 (2021-04-02 ) 38 Cambridge United 2–1 Morecambe show Cambridge 15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: David Rock
Morecambe v Southend United
6 April 2021 (2021-04-06 ) 39 Morecambe 1–1 Southend United show Morecambe18:30 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Scott Oldham
Port Vale v Morecambe
10 April 2021 (2021-04-10 ) 40 Port Vale 1–0 Morecambe show Burslem 15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Antony Coggins
Morecambe v Scunthorpe United
13 April 2021 (2021-04-13 ) 41 Morecambe 4–1 Scunthorpe United show Morecambe18:30 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Declan Bourne
Morecambe v Oldham Athletic
17 April 2021 (2021-04-17 ) 42 Morecambe 4–3 Oldham Athletic show Morecambe12:30 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Michael Salisbury Note: Kick-off brought forward from 15:00 to avoid clashing with the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh .
Grimsby Town v Morecambe
20 April 2021 (2021-04-20 ) 43 Grimsby Town 0–3 Morecambe show Cleethorpes 19:00 BST
Clifton 83'
Report
Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Paul Howard
Morecambe v Bolton Wanderers
24 April 2021 (2021-04-24 ) 44 Morecambe 0–1 Bolton Wanderers show Morecambe15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Carl Boyeson
Walsall v Morecambe
1 May 2021 (2021-05-01 ) 45 Walsall 0–2 Morecambe show Walsall 15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Banks's Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Lee Swabey
Morecambe v Bradford City
8 May 2021 (2021-05-08 ) 46 Morecambe 2–0 Bradford City show Morecambe15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Hicks
Play-offs [ ]
Main article: 2021 English Football League play-offs § League Two
Morecambe's 4th place finish in the league saw them qualify for the play-offs for the first time in 11 years . They played 7th place Tranmere Rovers over two legs and edged the Merseysiders out 3–2 on aggregate to reach the final for the first time in their history.
Tranmere Rovers v Morecambe
Morecambe v Tranmere Rovers
23 May 2021 (2021-05-23 ) Semi-final 2nd Leg Morecambe 1–1 (3–2 agg. ) Tranmere Rovers show Morecambe12:30 BST
Wildig 9' Cooney 76'
Report
Vaughan 53' , 81'
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 1,558 Referee: Thomas Bramall
Play-off Final [ ]
Main article: 2021 EFL League Two play-off Final
The semi-final victory over Tranmere saw Morecambe book their third trip to Wembley , after the 1974 FA Trophy Final and the 2007 Conference Play-off Final .
They played Welsh side Newport County for a place in League One , and prevailed thanks to a penalty from Carlos Mendes Gomes in the second period of extra time .
FA Cup [ ]
The draw for the First Round Proper was made on 26 October 2020 by Grant Holt .[4] Morecambe were handed an away tie at eighth tier Maldon & Tiptree .
The draw for the Second Round Proper was made on 9 November 2020 by Danny Cowley ,[5] with Morecambe drawn at home to Solihull Moors of the National League .
Robbie Savage drew the teams for the Third Round Proper on 30 November 2020,[6] with Morecambe being drawn away to Premier League giants (and eventual runners-up in the competition) Chelsea .
All draws were broadcast live on the BBC .
Chelsea v Morecambe
10 January 2021 (2021-01-10 ) Third Round Chelsea 4–0 Morecambe show Fulham 13:30 GMT
Mount 18'
Werner 44'
Hudson-Odoi 49'
Havertz 85'
Report
Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 0 Referee: Darren England
EFL Cup [ ]
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports , by Paul Merson .[7] The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on September 6, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb .[8]
Morecambe v Oldham Athletic
Morecambe v Newcastle United
EFL Trophy [ ]
The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.[9]
Pos
Div
Team
Pld
W
PW
PL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification
1
L2
Salford City
3
2
0
0
1
4
7
−3
6
Advance to Round 2
2
ACA
Manchester United U21
3
1
1
0
1
6
4
+2
5
3
L1
Rochdale
3
1
0
1
1
3
3
0
4
4
L2
Morecambe
3
1
0
0
2
5
4
+1
3
Morecambe v Manchester United U21
18 November 2020 Group stage Morecambe 4–0 Manchester United U21 show Morecambe18:30 GMT
Cooney 24' , 28' Davis 34' Price 62' Hendrie 90+4'
Report
Stadium: Mazuma Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse
Transfers [ ]
Transfers in [ ]
Date
Position
Nationality
Name
From
Fee
Ref.
1 August 2020
LB
Stephen Hendrie
Kilmarnock
Free transfer
[10]
2 August 2020
CB
Harry Davis
Grimsby Town
Free transfer
[11]
3 August 2020
CB
Nathaniel Knight-Percival
Carlisle United
Free transfer
[12]
4 August 2020
CF
Liam McAlinden
Stockport County
Free transfer
[13]
10 August 2020
LM
Ben Pringle
Gillingham
Free transfer
[14]
13 August 2020
RB
Kelvin Mellor
Bradford City
Free transfer
[15]
22 September 2020
LB
Liam Gibson
Newcastle United
Free transfer
[16]
23 September 2020
CB
Yann Songo'o
Scunthorpe United
Free transfer
[17]
26 January 2021
GK
Kyle Letheren
Chesterfield
Free transfer
[18]
Loans in [ ]
Transfers out [ ]
[ ]
^ Entire regular season played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic , however approximately 1,500 did attend the home leg of the Play-off semi-final.[1]
References [ ]
show National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–8 Levels 9–10
Combined Counties League (Premier , One )
East Midlands Counties League (level 10 only)
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One North , One South )
Essex Senior League (level 9 only)
Hellenic League (Premier , One East , One West )
Midland League (Premier , One )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
North West Counties League (Premier , One North , One South )
Southern Combination League (Premier , One )
Southern Counties East League (Premier , One )
South West Peninsula League (Premier East , Premier West - level 10 only )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier , One )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (Premier , One )
Western League (Premier , One )
West Midlands (Regional) League (Premier - level 10 only )
Cup competitions
Youth competitions